An evil update
 

Hi everybody,
I've been maintaining my 25 pound weightloss loss for 11 months now! Hot Dayum & Halleluliah, this makes me proud as a peacock! I'm P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S-I-N-G right along, todays weigh in 143, so 2 pounds under goal actually, so I am thrilled my maintenance is working, even if it is a yoyo maintenance some weeks, I know how to reel it back in. Besides, this yoyo maintenance works for me! Adios amigo's, until next time...

:bravo:

Mel

Congratulations Evil. It can be done , I am cruising right along beside you. Enjoy the ride !!

:cp: Good for you for figuring out how to make it work for you!

Nice going, Wendalyn!

Anne

Thanks Mel for my bravo sign, loved it!

Thanks Bargoo, yup your cruising along nicely yourself I see, way to go girl!

Thanks jtammy, wows your doing Awesome, I applaud you!!!!

Thanks wndrannne too! Hope your feeling good these days?

IMPRESSIVE!!! Really, really impressive.

I hope to say the same thing when I hit the 11 month mark - that I am 2 lbs under goal. Heck, I'll be happy to be 2 lbs OVER goal. Honest. ;)

:carrot: Congrats and keep up the amazing work! :carrot:

Awe geeze, really really impressive, thanks rockinrobin that means a lot from someone like you who has been so inspirational. I am certain you will be holding your own for many years to come, no doubt about that one! What you have accomplished is amazing, truly amazing!

:congrat: Wendalyn! Maintenance is a rollercoaster for a lot of us. It sounds like you're really getting comfortable as a maintainer!

Got to say that I just love your signature. :)

Oh come on now. Sure it's impressive and an accomplishment to lose weight, any amount of weight, but we ALL know that's just the very itty, bitty beginning. MAINTAINING that weight loss, keeping it OFF - that's the REAL goal and the REAL accomplishment. And I'm just a newbie - so I thank you for your lovely attitude, yeah, I'm LOVING your signature as well!!!

Thanks Meg & ROckinrobin,
My signature is me, It is so true, I am hanging on tight hoping not to de-rail! I am not sure if yoyo maintenance existed before I got here, but if not I am owning it! I go up and down, like a yoyo! I gave myself a bit of a cushion (my safe buffer zone) 3 pounds above goal and 3 pounds below goal & I try my BEST to stay in between. For the most part it is working, but I have ventured off to chocolateville & wineville a time or two, but when the scale arises, I just lay off the treaty treats! Maintenance shmaintenance, it is not easy, but I am happy to be here and I am no professional by any means, my training wheels are still attached and I am sure they will be here for awhile...

Cheers to you 2 fabulous ladies, you both are amazing! FYI, just wondering if my avatar is visible? I can see it, but I am not sure if anybody else can?

Also do you think its possible to keep the weight off and maintain without having to count calories and be anal about what we eat? I am working on finding the natural ability to eat when I need to and to eat the right stuff most of the time. I would love to reach nirvana!

Your avatar is most definitely visible! All in all, you have one of the most striking avatar/signature combinations here. :D

As to naturally maintaining weight without being anal -- intuitive or natural eating will never work for me, though some swear by it. My sense of "full" and when to stop is broken, if it ever worked. I don't have an off switch, so I have to use my head to tell me when it's time to stop eating.

But I try to find a happy medium between intuitive eating and being anal. After six years, I have a pretty good sense of what a typical day's food looks like and what foods are appropriate and which ones are off-limits. Even though I still use Fitday, it's more of a security blanket than a planning tool for me now. I'm just reluctant to abandon any of the strategies that got me to goal. Superstitious, in a way!

I used to think there was a nirvana when I got to goal. I honestly believed that my eating issues (the ones that got me to morbid obesity) would be cured and I'd live happily ever after. Chocolate chip cookies? Wouldn't even want them! Binge eating? Not me! Well, I was wrong. Life after goal has the same eating issues that I had while I was heavy; I've just learned to manage them. But perhaps there's a nirvana for you -- we're all so different that I wouldn't doubt it for a minute. :)

Oddly enough, as I was losing the weight, my instincts were MUCH better. Having hit "goal", that natural ability to eat properly has basicaly flown out the window :(. Although I'm not sure just how "natural" my ability was then either. I certainly DID count my calories and plan out all my food.

So therefore, I without a doubt, 100% don't think it is possible to keep the weight off and maintain without haing to count calories and be anal about what we eat. At least for me anyway. I will never find the natural ability to eat when I need to and the right stuff most of the time. My natural ability told me/tells me to eat ice cream and pasta and bread and chocolate and cookies and cake, etc... And then to make matters worse, that old natural ability of mine tells me to eat ALL of it. Whatever's there. Til there's none left. I simply can not rely on my natural ability..

Although I am pretty rigid with what I eat *most of the time*, I'm not totally and completely anal about my calorie counting. I guessstimate it all in my head and I'm okay with that. I know approximately the number of calories I am consuming and that seems to be good enough. Especially given that I eat lots of veggies during the week.

I'm not taking anything to chance. I will continue to plan my meals/snacks in advance and count (estimate) my calories. There will be no nirvana for me. But don't get me wrong, I think it is WELL worth the effort. More then well worth it in fact. :smug:

Thanks Meg & Rockin
Nice to get your perspectives..... Yeah I know we are all UNIQUE individuals so I guess I shall wait and see if Nirvana exists for me. I have never really been overweight per se, so maybe my chance is there! However, in the meantime though, why play Russian roulette. I think I will just continue to use my head to guide me along my days and lay the Nirvana bit to rest, it probably is a bunch of hooey anyways, but it would be wonderful if it does exist someday in all of our futures...

Wendalyn, congratulations on your 11 months!!! Sounds like you're handling maintenance swimmingly. :D

I personally have to be very anal about writing down, measuring, and generally being very careful about what I eat. Like Meg, I could "eyeball" it and generally know about what I should eat, but when it comes to a new dish or even just a bad day, I can easily deceive myself or genuinely have no concept about how much I'm eating. But I am very concrete sequential in personality, so writing things down and planning out comes more easily to me. But I'd say if you can work out your own "system" for maintenance that works for you, more power to you!